Your inner thighs may not be as outwardly visible as, say, your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, but they’re still a big part of overall lower-body strength—so they’re definitely worth taking the time to burn out. However, there are some misconceptions about what inner thigh workouts actually do. Spot training isn’t a thing with any part of the body, so you won’t noticeably “reshape” your inner thighs, but there are other major reasons to work these muscles.

“The inner thigh muscles, or adductors, are made up of five different muscles that are responsible for stabilizing the outward rotation of your knee, helping pull the legs toward the center line of your body," explains exercise physiologist Michelle Lovitt, M.A. “These muscles all attach to the pelvis and play a key role in hip flexion and extension. They're also incredibly important in stabilizing your core.” Together, these five muscles—the pectineus, gracilis, adductor longus, adductor brevis, and adductor magnus—function to provide stability and injury prevention for your knees, hips, and low back (to name a few).

Of course there are some things your inner thighs (or any muscle group, for that matter) can’t do. To help make sure your workout will deliver the results you want (and injury-proof your body), here are four common myths to stop believing:

Myth 1: Working your inner thighs often will drastically alter their shape.

First and foremost, it’s important to note that doing workouts that target your inner thighs won’t directly define them—this is a myth called “spot training,” and it doesn't work, explains Lovitt. You can strengthen the muscle, but overall body fat, body composition, and bone structure will determine the appearance. Remember, you can’t lose body fat from one specific area, even if you’re working those muscles.

Myth 2: Too much inner thigh work will bulk up your legs.

“One of the [myths] that I hear the most is ‘I don't want to work my inner thighs because I don't want to have big inner thighs,’” says Lovitt. “You can develop muscles to a certain level, but unless you're really training for mass, and increasing your calories exponentially and increasing your protein, it’s not going to happen,” she explains.

So don’t let this myth stop you from doing inner thigh exercises—skipping this muscle group means you’ll be missing out on some major injury-preventing benefits, like the ones below.

Myth 3: There aren’t a ton of benefits to working your inner thighs.

Now that we’ve established that you can’t spot train your inner thighs, let’s talk about the real purpose for working your inner thigh muscles: They’re a major player in core strength and injury prevention, explains Lovitt. Strong adductors are particularly beneficial for preventing knee injuries, she explains.

The muscle groups in your legs work together to provide balance and stability for your body. The inner thigh muscles provide internal rotation, which counterbalances the external rotation from your outer thighs and glutes, explains Lovitt. This will help your knees track properly during movement so that they are in the best position to handle force in weight-bearing exercises, like in squats or lunges, she adds.

Your inner thigh muscles also set up a “base” for your pelvis, which plays a big role in keeping stability in your core (which includes your hips, abs, and low back). “All five adductor muscles attach to the pelvis, so weak inner thighs [can often lead to] poor core balance,” she says. And having a strong core is key for proper movement in and out of the gym.

Keeping your pelvis supported with strong inner thigh muscles helps prevent injuries, too. “When the inner thighs work with the outer thighs, they provide side-to-side stabilization of the pelvis,” explains Lovitt. “If you have abductors (outer thighs) that are strong and inner thighs that are weak, then you won't have good side-to-side stabilization of the pelvis, and that leads to injuries to other areas of the body, especially the low back.”

Myth 4: The adductor machine is the best way to work your inner thighs.

Au contraire. Lovitt created an effective 10-minute workout for SELF that hits all five of your adductor muscles—get the details here (and read about why machines aren’t always the most efficient way to work out here).